Friday, October 21, 2011

How Many Leavings?

We've been here for more than three weeks now, patiently waiting to break into our welders schedule and complete the re-repair of the fiver.

He got the pieces and parts cut and formed over the last week. Last evening he began burning the metal to restore the Eagle to road worthiness.

In the meantime... in amongst all my other lil' chores, we've been culling a few more things off the rig. Which is kinda funny considering the comment Mark/Box Canyon Blogger made yesterday. (he advised to keep the rig we have... and just lighten the load and cull down to the Necessities!) That is, maybe, the most difficult part of working to get into this lifestyle... The discarding of all those precious possessions. (that just aren't that precious!)

You can talk about it. You can say THIS is what I must do. You can head off down that trail with a pocket full of good intentions. It's a rare individual who can actually get it done in one, ruthless run. Most of US (I'm takin' full responsibility here!) though we KNOW it's the right and proper thing to do... just can't bring ourselves to chuck that left handed widget winder... even though we KNOW... we will NEVER... EVER, use it again... at least not on the first 'sort' of property... maybe the second or third? ;)

The thing is... I'm tellin' myself here, as much as I'm telling anyone else... IF... I ever did need that left handed widget winder... I can pick up a new one at Harbor Freight... for likely HALF of what it's costing us to store that last never-to-be-used-again pile of precious Junk! :) So, if you're wondering, dump it! It can be replaced!

So anyhoo... come early next week, we'll be coming to another Leaving. Kinda strange. It's not as intense as the first one, but still, though the feeling may be a bit less, it's still a feeling of anticipation, excitement... the feeling of Going Home.

I got to wondering, how many Leavings does a man have in him? Will he come to the point when it becomes stale and tasteless? or, will there Always be that sense of stepping off into the unknown? Can he enjoy at least some flavor of excitement, always?

I'm hoping so... It is such a treasured thing for me yet. After all the Leavings in my life, over these many years... I still, know that same feeling of being able to take a "full breath"... when I've broke the chains that held me static.

It is a feeling of contentment... of.. Being where I belong.

I expect that most people in the world can't understand or comprehend that restlessness. They have some goal in mind. Something they want to achieve. They think in terms of getting somewhere. They think in terms of familiarity...

They just can't grasp the goal of fellas like me...

I don't want to GET... anywhere... I only want to GO.

Getting Ready, One More Time... to Get Up and GO
Brian

Return to the main site of goin' RV Boondocking or Visit my Sister website Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road

5 comments:

Myrddin said...

When I don't have any "Leavings" in me anymore, I guess that's when I'll hang up the keys.

Safe Travels,

Jim

Cynthia said...

Brian, I can definitely understand restlessness and that need to keep moving, keep exploring, keep searching. It seems that we are constantly searching for peace for our restless souls and that peace continues to be elusive. At times we catch glimpses and think ahh there it is! This is it! And then off it goes and we wonder how did we lose it so quickly...I'm often envious of those that seemed to have found it and continue to hang onto it. I wonder, how did they find it so easily? How did they know where to find it in the first place? How did they just "know" what to do with their lives? What must it be like to truly enjoy where you've settled, what you do for a living, what your life has amounted to? I've never been one of those people but I've come to realize that in some, like me, like maybe you, the journey is what we live for, not the destination.

Brian said...

Myrddin and Cynthia... Yes to both! For me, it IS the journey... I always feel melancholy when I "Get" there... I want to leave again ASAP, 'cause that movement, that ever changing view, at the receding horizon... THAT, is my place of peace Cynthia mentioned :)

Ed said...

The whole song is a good one but it is the first stanza that is most appropriate to your blog writing of today.

Dierks Bentley, Lot Of Leavin' Left To Do Lyrics

These old boots still got a lot of ground
they ain’t covered yet
There’s at least another million miles
under these old bus treads
So if you think I’m gonnna settle down
I‘ve got news for you
I still got a lot of leavin’ left to do

Marcia G. said...

About reducing the amount of "good stuff" you keep and the stuff you part with.....your observation is spot on that if by some quirk of fate you DO need that whatchamacallit that you donated, tossed or gave away, there is always gonna be some place to obtain another one. (eBay and Craig's List are full of 'em) The chances are pretty darn good, however, that you're never, ever gonna need that whosiwhatzit again. So do yourself a favor and let someone else enjoy it for a while. :)